The enduring name and philosophy of Iqbal

The advent of the 20th century marked the consolidation of national states based on regional fidelities. Reason replaced religion as the focal point of culture and civilization. Minor states merged into powerful nations and soon evolved a common outlook based on affinities of historical, cultural, and linguistic traditions.

These nation-states guided mainly by their interests entered a race for profit, power, and prestige, which soon resulted in a bitter conflict between them in a bid to redistribute backward areas of the world as their colonies. During such time born a child in a family of modest means in far-off Sialkot.

Iqbal was greatly impressed by the Marxian thought and in his later poems, published posthumously in his last collection ‘Armughan-e-Hejaz’, he described Socialism as the next greatest threat to all evil in the world.

The child was given the name of Mohammed Iqbal who grew up into a highly educated young man well versed in Philosophy, Law, and Arabic and became an epoch-making poet who practically over-shadowed all his predecessors and contemporaries in Urdu literature.

He taught Arabic, philosophy, and practiced law but what made him immortal was his Urdu and Persian poetry. He wanted to explore the power and energy that a single word can contain; with that electrifying energy and conviction of ideas, he revolutionized the minds of his fellow-men that led to the dream of an independent homeland for the Muslims.

Read more: Iqbal: A philosopher of East & West; but misunderstood by most..!

A number of personalities and philosophies left a deep impact on Iqbal, though he could not be totally led by them. Among them is Karl Marx and his socialist ideas which were translated into action in 1917 by Lenin. Iqbal was greatly impressed by the Marxian thought and in his later poems, published posthumously in his last collection........